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| Syndicate: Macedonia briefing 11 may 01 |
>From ebalkan@soros.org.mk
"EURO-BALKAN" INSTITUTE ON MACEDONIAN
CRISIS
11-05-2001
CONTENTS:
- Daily briefing from Macedonian press about
Macedonian crisis
- Daily briefing from international press about
Macedonian crisis
SUPPLEMENT 1: <FontFamily><param>Times New
Roman</param>=93<FontFamily><pa=
ram>Courier New</param>TERROR AND ROSES IN GROUND ZERO
VILLAGE=94 - NICK WOOD DESCRIBES HOW HE AND
PHOTOGRAPHER ANDREW TESTA WERE CAUGHT IN
MACEDONIAN ARMY TANK FIRE
<paraindent><param>out</param>a) DAILY BRIEFING FROM
MACEDONIAN PRESS
ABOUT MACEDONIAN CRISIS
THE MACEDONIAN FORCES ACT ON NEW TERRORIST
POSITIONS
The Spokesman of the Macedonian Army
Headquarters, Blagoja Markovski, marked
yesterday as one of the most peaceful in the
past week. He said that yesterday no intense
movement was noticed of the Albanian terrorist
groups in the Kumanovo region. =93The Macedonian
security forces acted twice in direction of the
terrorists=92 positions, at 11:30 action was taken
directed on the revealed new positions of the
terrorist group in Orizare, and an hour later,
on a bunker south from Otlja=94, stated the
Macedonian Army spokesman, Blagoja Markovski.
Two Danish journalists yesterday sought help
from the Macedonian forces to be pulled out from
Lipkovo. Markovski said that the journalists
will be pulled out from there and that it
remains unclear how they entered the village.
(=93VEST=94)
THE NEW COALITION IS FORMED TOMORROW, WITH OR
WITHOUT PDP
The new coalition government may be formed
tomorrow, regardless or the participation or non-
participation of the Party for Democratic
Prosperity. This is agreed by all coalition
partners and is supported by the international
community. The Prime Minister, Ljubcho
Georgievski, announced for today a meeting with
the political leaders on which all problematic
issues are to be discussed. If possible, already
tomorrow the Macedonian Parliament will hold the
formal event of choosing of the new government.
The PDP announced that it will present their
definite standpoint on the participation in the
coalition. They remain categorical with their
request to get guarantees for change of the
Macedonian Constitution and the stop of the
military actions before they give their
approval. The leaders of the PDP had contacts
with foreign ambassadors in Macedonia and asked
them to guarantee them change of the
Constitution, the same guarantees are asked from
the SDSM (Social Democratic Union of Macedonia).
In the SDSM, they say that they have no
intention to give any guarantees beforehand that
the Constitution will be changed, but that they
are only willing to discuss the problematic
issues. (=93DNEVNIK=94)
THE TV NETWORK =93TELMA=94 CONTACTED THE CAPTURED
MACEDONIAN ARMY SOLDIER, GORAN MITROVSKI
The captured Macedonian Army Soldier (23 years
old), from Pehchevo, who is in Kosovo for two
weeks already in the hands of the terrorists, is
alive and well. This was announced on the TV
network =93Telma=94, the day before yesterday, live
by phone by the Captured soldier Mitrovski
personally. Asked how he is being treated by the
kidnappers and if he is tortured, Mitrovski said
that they feed him regularly, give him water and
all other necessities, and that they treat him
quite well. (=93VEST=94)
IS THERE A SECRET AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE
NEGOTIATORS OF THE GRAND COALITION AND JAVIER
SOLANA TO WHOM THE PDP CALL UPON?
The TV Network =93Channel 5=94 from Skopje, in the
second edition of the news, showed a document
allegedly signed by the negotiators of the grand
coalition and Javier Solana. According to their
information, there are 8 requests in the
document: ceasefire, while the security forces
will keep their positions and will not progress;
giving the NLA members 48 hours to leave
Macedonia and to surrender their arms to the
KFOR and not to be arrested, unless they are
charged in Kosovo. Then, with the mediation of
international representatives, 72 hours after
the retreat of the NLA, the Internal Affairs
Ministry should enter the villages which the
terrorists will leave and they should be
restrained in this action, the Macedonian Army
will enter the terrain 10 days after the
retreat, but accompanied by international
monitors. The international community should
announce their support of an intensified
political dialogue publicly, which is agreed by
the 4 political parties that support the
participation in the grand coalition. There is a
request for amnesty regarding reforms that will
be conducted in three phases after which the NLA
stops with all kind of future use of threat and
military force. =93The presented requests, on
which the PDP calls upon are not true. In
bilateral negotiations with Mr. Javier Solana,
we agreed on the forming of a grand coalition
that will be the base for stabilizing of the
situation in Macedonia, without any preset
conditions, says the general secretary of the
SDSM, Gjorgji Spasov. (=93VECHER=94)
MESSAGE FROM THE MACEDONIAN JOURNALISTS =96
POLITICIANS, COME TO YOUR SENSES FINALLY
=93It seems as if you have forgotten that
Macedonia is at a verge of an abyss. With
completely unexplainable relaxation and ease,
you are spending the little time left to get out
of this chaos. The functioning of your grand
coalition hesitates. In the meantime, the
paramilitary army is intensified, the regions
out of state control are spreading, and the
international public is losing interest for the
occurrences in our country. We, the Macedonian
journalists, are reminding you that while you
continue with your fights for ministerial and
directorial positions, soldiers and policemen
are meaninglessly losing lives on the
battlefield with the paramilitary formations,
awaiting your political decisions. Politicians,
come to your senses finally! With each passing
day, we are getting closer to our doom. Is that
your political platform? It is true that
Macedonia is all we have, but it is also true
that we are losing it because of you=94, it is
said in the joint message sent by the
journalists from the medias =93A1 TV=94, =93Sitel=94,
=93ZUM=94, =93Channel 5=94, =93Makedonija Denes=94, =93Denes=94,
=93Dnevnik=94, =93Vest=94, =93Kanal 77=94, =93Young
Journalists=92 Forum=94, =93Sky Net TV=94.
THE CLAIM OF A WESTERN DIPLOMAT IN SKOPJE
A western diplomat, yesterday in Skopje gave a
statement for Reuters that Great Britain and the
USA are trying to convince the PDP to give up
the requests for changing the Constitution as a
condition to join the grand coalition. In the
talks, as stated by the anonymous diplomat, =93it
seems that ceasefire will be agreed=94, which is
one of the main requests made by the PDP. =93We
are pressuring the PDP to enter the coalition.
We are trying to convince the PDP to stop
insisting terrorist representatives to join the
Government=94, stated the diplomat. (=93VEST=94)
<paraindent><param>out</param>b) DAILY BRIEFING FROM
INTERNATIONAL PRESS
ABOUT MACEDONIAN CRISIS
MACEDONIA CAUGHT IN MILITARY AND POLITICAL
STALEMATE
In addition to its call for a total halt to
shelling, the PDP wants the withdrawal of all
fighters and a phased return of police to the
conflict zone under foreign monitoring. It also
backs the =93National Liberation Army=94 rebels'
demands to join the coalition - a non-starter
with the government. Britain said it was worried
by the delay. =93Every passing day increases the
risk of deepening divisions between Macedonia's
different ethnic communities,=94 a Foreign Office
spokesman said. (Reuters) Ethnic Albanian
guerrillas say they have not retreated an inch
despite heavy army bombardment of villages they
hold. The army has not yet moved forward,
partly, it says, because civilians cannot or
will not leave the battle area. Government
sources said a quiet deal with the PDP would
give "National Liberation Army" (NLA) fighters
72 hours to pull out. But Macedonian
presidential adviser Nikola Dimitrov said there
could be no unilateral ceasefire with
"terrorists. "If the PDP's ceasefire condition
envisages a stop in defending the country, it
would be unacceptable," he said. The government
fears the rebels will simply create another
flashpoint somewhere else, claiming that
Albanians are being offered empty promises.
(Reuters) But Georgievski said the army guns,
which were silent Thursday apart from occasional
shellfire, could not stay out of action for
long. "We have the generals' recommendations not
to cease fire for a long period of time because
it would only be abused by the rebels to regroup
and bring in more weapons." A western diplomat,
speaking on condition of anonymity, told AFP
that the PDP's tactic was thought to be a means
of raising the stakes, gaining publicity and
securing better ministerial posts in an eventual
coalition. He admitted that officials had been
caught off guard by the party's change of tack
after the coalition had been announced Tuesday,
but predicted the party would fall into line
after winning short-term political capital.
(AFP) The party, however, says it will only join
the government if the army declares a unilateral
ceasefire. Mr. Georgievski says a truce is out
of the question. (VOA) =93There will be no long-
lasting cease-fire except for the daily five-
hour break we give civilians to enable them to
leave the villages,=94 he told a news conference.
(Reuters)
PDP IS DELAYING THE DECISION
PDP Deputy Chairman Abdylhadi Veseli said he
hoped to find a solution to break the deadlock
in a crisis. =93We want to rule responsibly with
the coalition,=94 he said. Hashim Thaci, a former
guerrilla leader in Kosovo but now head of the
main ethnic Albanian party in the United Nations
run Yugoslav province, urged PDP to do just
that. =93We all understand that the (PDP's)
boycott of this process does not help in solving
the problems,=94 Thaci said. Macedonian Prime
Minister Ljubco Georgievski said a new
government would be formed on Saturday
regardless of who signs up. =93The PDP will be
asked for the last time: 'Are they ready?'=94 NLA
Commander Sokoli said the PDP's maneuvering
would not end the insurgency that the shelling
has sought to crush. =93All they're interested in
is being co-opted into the political process to
try and feather their nests,=94 he said. (Reuters)</color>
PDP spokesman Bektesi said the PDP believes that
joining the coalition would be counterproductive
without an end of military operations. =93The
international community should help in creating
conditions for an end of military operations,=94
he added before the planned PDP meeting started.
(AP) =93We are waiting today for a confirmation of
our demands, which have to be guaranteed by
international institutions and Macedonian
authorities,=94 said the party's vice-president,
Aziz Pollozhani. (<color><param>0100,0100,0100</param>Toronto
Star)
ROBERTSON: THE NATION=92S SURVIVAL IS AT STAKE
NATO Secretary-General George Robertson
reiterated on Thursday his plea that political
leaders in Macedonia find a way of creating a
united government. "When the nation's very
survival is at stake, there is no room for
playing politics," Robertson told a news
conference in Madrid "All political leaders who
care for the future of the people of Macedonia
should unite, stand together and face the future
as a united country," he added. NATO has
provided military advice to Macedonia while its
peacekeeping troops in Kosovo attempt to seal
the border to infiltrators. (CNN) </color>In a statement
issued Thursday by Swedish Foreign Minister Anna
Lindh, the European Union said Macedonia's
leadership had been talking about a unity
government for more than a month =93without any
progress being made.=94 =93I would urge the
leadership of the PDP to take their
responsibility for the stability of the country
and join the coalition,=94 Lindh said, referring
to the ethnic Albanian party. (AP)
<color><param>0100,0100,0100</param>MACEDONIA'S SURVIVAL AT
STAKE
Mr. Sakolski said Macedonia is more threatened
now than at any time in its ten years as an
independent state. As United Nations assistant
secretary general, Mr. Sakolski was in charge of
the U.N. Preventive Deployment Force [UNPREDEP],
whose several hundred military personnel
patrolled the tense Macedonia-Kosovo border
between 1993 and 1999. "I strongly believe that
it helped the country survive in the more than
six years it was placed there," said Mr.
Sakolski. Speaking at Washington's U.S.
Institute of Peace where he is a senior fellow,
Mr. Sokolski is convinced that if the force were
still in place Macedonia would not be facing the
possibility of civil war between its Slav
majority and ethnic Albanian minority. The force
was disbanded because of a Chinese veto in the
Security Council after the Macedonian government
extended diplomatic recognition to Taiwan in
1999. "It was, said Mr. Sakolski, disbanded at
the time it was needed most." The Polish
diplomat strongly advocates the creation of a
Macedonian government of national unity and a
social compact to draw the country closer
together: "First of all we should get rid of the
problem by really negotiating what I call a pact
for Macedonia. And a social contract between all
the political forces in the country," said Mr.
Sakolski. Mr. Sakolski blames outsiders from
Kosovo for instigating the ethnic Albanian
insurgency that he believes could tear the
country apart. He calls for closer ties between
Macedonia's armed forces and Nato and increased
foreign assistance. (VOA)
FEARS GROW FOR MACEDONIA REFUGEES
The United Nations fears a humanitarian crisis
may erupt in Macedonia as tens of thousands of
civilians get caught in the nation's conflict
zone. Hordes of frightened villagers are
continuing to stream from the villages about 30
km (20 miles) north of the capital, Skopje, into
neighboring Kosovo. CNN's Chris Burns said tens
of thousands of others appear unable or
unwilling to leave the area, despite government
appeals. The army claims the rebels are forcing
civilians to stay as human shields-charges they
deny. "There are 30,000 civilians in this area.
How could we possibly keep them hostage against
their will?" one rebel commander, Commander
Sokoli told Reuters. CNN
SOKOLI: MACEDONIAN FORCES USE RUSSIAN TACTICS
Meanwhile, ethnic Albanian rebel leaders accused
Macedonian forces on Thursday of systematically
destroying remote villages to drive Albanians
out. "That's what they're aiming for. They're
using the scorched earth tactics the Russians
did in Afghanistan," said Commander Sokoli of
the National Liberation Army (UCK). "In Slupcane
there, they're shelling the houses, not our
positions. We're in front of the village and
above it but not in it. But that's doesn't
matter to them," he said. The NLA insists a
solution is possible. "This can all be solved by
a ball-point pen and an agreement to sign," said
one rebel. "Sooner or later we will be sitting
at the negotiating table, you'll see. Until
then, we won't be moving." CNN
DANGEROUS STALEMATE IN MACEDONIA
The situation of Albanians in Macedonia may not
be ideal: there are certainly instances of
occasional discrimination. Few Albanians are
civil servants or officers in the army or
police. But then, traditionally, Albanians have
not been greatly interested in such careers,
preferring their own closely-knit trade networks
to provide a means of subsistence. Under Prime
Minister Georgievski, conditions for Albanians
have been improving, rather than deteriorating;
and in any case, their plight has never been
comparable to that of the Kosovo Albanians,
oppressed under Slobodan Milosevic. What poisons
every attempt at resolving the current crisis in
Macedonia is the thought that the March
rebellion in the hills over Tetovo (later that
month crushed by the army) and the May upsurge
northeast of Skopje were if not initiated, then
at least actively stimulated by former ethnic
Albanian guerrilla fighters from Kosovo. People
who, when they saw no future for themselves in
the UN-administered province, decided to export
their revolution to neighboring Macedonia. Even
though it wasn=92t really what most Albanians in
Macedonia were waiting for most urgently.(</color>Radio
Netherlands Wereldomroep)<color><param>0100,0100,0100</param>
MACEDONIA, SERBIA TO WORK TOGETHER
Macedonian and Serbian leaders pledged to work
together to fight ethnic Albanian rebels on both
sides of the border with Kosovo, as the army
pressed its assault Thursday against the
insurgents in northern villages. The Macedonian
government and Western observers have linked the
rebels in Macedonia with members of the former
Kosovo Liberation Army. Djindjic accused the
rebels of serving under a joint command.
=93The terrorists are well-coordinated,=94 he said.
=93That means that we have to cooperate at least
just as closely and coordinate our actions.=94
Georgievski agreed, calling for =93coordination=94
between Macedonia and Serbia, the dominant
Yugoslav republic, by exchanging information
that could lead to the =93stifling of terrorism.=94
They did not elaborate or indicate whether they
were considering any joint military action - a
step that would anger other Balkan nations.
(AP)<FontFamily><param>Arial</param><bigger><bigger>
<FontFamily><param>Co=
urier New</param><smaller><smaller>
META AND XHAFERI: PEACEFUL AND POLITICAL
SOLUTION OF THE CRISIS
Prime Minister Ilir Meta Wednesday asked a key
ethnic Albanian leader in Macedonia to help
bring an end to the violence there and form a
grand coalition government. Meta and Arben
Xhaferi, meeting in the Albanian town of
Pogradec, agreed that the ongoing clashes
between ethnic Albanian guerillas and Macedonian
soldiers was detrimental to Macedonia's long-
term stability and ethnic Albanian demands for
equal rights. "A further radicalization of the
situation in Macedonia does not serve Albanians
or Macedonians," said a statement issued by
Meta's office. Both agreed on the need to stop
the fighting and begin reforms to solve the
crises with peaceful and political means. NATO
Secretary-General George Robertson and the
president of European Commission, Romano Prodi,
met the Albanian prime minister in Brussels,
Belgium, early this week and asked Meta to use
his influence to ease the tension in Macedonia.
Last week, President George W. Bush and
Secretary of State Colin Powell also met with
Meta, asking him to play a part in ending the
violence in Macedonia, as well as Kosovo.
(United Press International)
44 SUSPECTED TERRORIST FREED ON PROCEDURAL ERROR
On Thursday, Kosovo's high court released 44 ethnic Albanians who had been=
arrested by German peacekeeping troops along the border in March on suspic=
ion
of involvement in the fighting in Macedonia. UN spokeswoman Susan Manuel s=
aid
the suspects were freed because of a procedural error during their detenti=
on.
She did not elaborate. (The Canadian Press)
<FontFamily><param>Times New Roman</param>c)
<FontFamily><param>Courier New</param>SUPPLEMENT 1
<FontFamily><param>Times New Roman</param>:
=93
<FontFamily><param>Courier New</param>TERROR AND ROSES IN
GROUND ZERO VILL=
AGE
=94
NICK WOOD DESCRIBES HOW HE AND PHOTOGRAPHER ANDREW TESTA WERE CAUGHT IN
MACEDONIAN ARMY TANK FIRE
We set out shortly before 6am. The ceasefire announced by the Macedonian
government was due to end in four hours' time. On the road to Slupcane, gr=
ound
zero of the government's battle with the ethnic Albanian guerrilla group, =
the
National Liberation Army, two small groups of people were walking along th=
e
road, holding bags between them and heading west. The approach to the vill=
age
looked much the same as the last time we had gone down the road on Sunday.=
There were a few more mortar craters in the road, but the dead cow I had s=
een
lying bloated, face upwards in a field, was now being picked at by crows. =
We
were granted permission to see the village by a rebel commander who insist=
ed
that a "press officer", a gaunt man in a puffa jacket and dark
trousers, g=
o
with us. He did not appear to be armed. First stop was a series of houses =
at
the southern end of the village. We drove in the BBC's armoured car, a lar=
ge
white Land Rover marked in six places with the letters "TV", which was
sup=
posed
to afford protection against machine-gun fire.
Our press officer directed our attention to the houses at the edge of the
village. All had gaping holes in them. A telegraph wire lay across the roa=
d. As
Andrew Testa, the Guardian photographer, went ahead with our translator, A=
rtan,
I turned the Land Rover around so that we faced back toward the centre of =
the
village.
I caught up with them near a line of sandbags and a bunker. "Keep in,"
And=
rew
said, adding that Macedonian army positions were down the road. Before I h=
ad
time to think about it, the crack of machine-gun fire opened up around us.=
I
ran to the right and fell into a trench running along a wall, and then a f=
ew
seconds later into the bunker itself. Half a dozen guerrilla fighters foll=
owed
suit. A loud bang followed.
"They blown up your car," Artan said as rebels shouted down to us. The
ter=
ror
of what was happening was just beginning to sink in. The Macedonian army h=
ad
broken its own ceasefire. The idea that journalists could safely wander in=
and
out of the rebel-held area had literally been blown away. We set about mak=
ing
frantic phone calls to government spokesmen and other contacts. The only p=
lace
with a signal was just outside the entrance to the bunker, in a shallow tr=
ench.
Andrew and I took it in turn to call. "I'll do everything I can, but its
n=
ot my
area, it's the army's," said a despairing ministry of interior official.
This wasn't getting us anywhere. I returned to the dugout. Foam mattresses=
had
been laid out on the floor and covered in blankets. Opposite me a gunman
clicked worry beads and sang. Eventually the Red Cros
<FontFamily><param>Courier New Cyr</param>s spokesman,
Fran=E7ois Stam, ca=
lled: "I've just spoken to the president's chef
de cabinet. He says the army's ceasefire is still holding." A tank shell
slammed into a building behind us, quickly dispelling that idea. "Are you
=
sure
you know where the shooti
<FontFamily><param>Courier New</param>ng is coming from?"
the voice on the=
other end of the mobile asked.
"Don't worry Nick, everything's going to be alright," Artan said as I
jogg=
ed my
knee with increasing intensity. So long as the Macedonian army stuck to he=
avy
machine gun and tank fire he was right. Mortars and artillery shells howev=
er
could pierce the earthworks piled on to the wooden roof above our heads.
We were with six guerrillas, including an 18-year-old woman who had fought=
with
the ethnic Albanian Kosovo Liberation Army two years ago. She went out dur=
ing
the shelling and came back with a bunch of roses, removed the thorns and h=
anded
me one. After two hours the shooting had died down to intermittent cannon =
fire.
By now the Red Cross, senior ministry of defence and interior ministry
officials were pulling out all the stops. I was eventually given the numbe=
r of
the local army captain. We could leave but there was one problem. Which wa=
y did
we want to go? By 9am, my hopes of getting out were fading. We had one hou=
r
until the government was due to relaunch its bombardment. More phone calls=
were
made, and half an hour later we had the signal to leave. We were to make a=
white flag, and walk about a third of a mile towards the army's checkpoint=
.
Andrew made quick work of a whitish woolly carpet lying beneath us. Artan =
was
too afraid to leave with us and said he would
try to get out with the rebels, via a back road.
I waved the flag over the sandbags for a few
seconds and emerged on to the road, with hands
raised. It was only now we could see how near we
were to the army's lines. Ten minutes later, we
walked up to a line of tanks and an armoured
personnel carrier, waving as we got closer.
While we were being searched, a soldier asked.
"Whose white van was that?" "Ours", I said,
pointing at my chest.
"Oh, sorry," he replied. An hour later the
shelling resumed.
(The Guardian)</color>
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